JP4828653B1 - Server, dictionary generation method, dictionary generation program, and computer-readable recording medium for recording the program - Google Patents

Abstract

A related word dictionary in which a user's thoughts and actions are taken into consideration is generated.
A search server 10 includes category information in which position information indicating a geographical position, a word assigned to the position, and a user ID that identifies a user who assigned the word to the position are associated with each other. A category database 14 to be stored; first input information indicating a position to which a first word is assigned by a first user; and second input information indicating a position to which a second word is assigned by a second user , And based on these information, the dictionary data in which the first and second words are associated with each other when it is determined that the first and second users have given the words at a predetermined number or more of common positions. And a dictionary registration unit 15 for registering the dictionary data in the dictionary database 16.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a server, a method, a program for generating a dictionary for information retrieval, and a computer-readable recording medium for recording the program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an information processing system that retrieves information corresponding to a predetermined condition and provides it to a user is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses a preference information management system that estimates and uses preference information suitable for a user. When there is no preference information at a certain position, this system estimates the preference information from the current position and the category of the location, absolute position data as expressed by latitude and longitude, and the category of the location. Means for maintaining the corresponding relationship.

  Patent Document 2 below discloses a service information distribution apparatus for easily obtaining service information related to a position where a recipient of service information is currently located. When receiving a service distribution request from a receiving member's terminal, this device automatically acquires the current location information of the terminal, corresponds to the service genre desired by the member, and corresponds to the current location information. Information is extracted from the distribution file and distributed to the terminal.

  Patent Document 3 below discloses a destination search device for easily searching for a destination even when the name and position of the destination are unknown. This apparatus includes a database that defines the name, position, and genre of a place that can be a destination or a related place, a selected genre, an input name or genre of a related place, and a set positional relationship. Search for a destination based on.

  In these search systems, “fluctuation search” or “probably search” using a dictionary that defines the relevance of characters or phrases may be used. This search method may be used to estimate and search for a correct word even if there is an input error in the character of the search condition. Further, it may be used to widen the range of search results by estimating another word / phrase related to the word / phrase input as the search condition and searching using the estimated word / phrase.

  As a technique related to a dictionary for realizing such a search, Patent Literature 4 below discloses a synonym calculation device that creates a synonym dictionary reflecting at least two types of relevance. This device uses at least two types of association degree dictionaries, initializes word groups based on one association degree dictionary, and creates synonym groups by merging word groups based on each association degree dictionary To do.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-15876 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-73672 JP 2010-133904 A JP 11-31168 A

  However, the dictionary disclosed in Patent Document 4 is only generated on the system side, and the user cannot be involved there. If the user's thoughts and actions can be reflected in the related word dictionary, there is a possibility that it is possible to provide information in a manner different from the conventional one.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a server capable of generating a related word dictionary that takes into account the user's thoughts and actions, a dictionary generation method, a dictionary generation program, and a computer-readable recording medium for recording the program. With the goal.

  The server of the present invention stores input information in which position information indicating a geographical position, a word assigned to the position, and a user ID that identifies a user who assigned the word to the position are associated with each other. First input information indicating a position to which the first word is given by the first user and second input showing a position to which the second word is given by the second user from the storage means and the input storage means Determining means for determining whether or not the first and second users have added words at a predetermined number of common positions or more based on the first and second input information; and first information And the second user generates dictionary data in which the first and second words are associated, and determines that the dictionary data is a dictionary. Registration means for registering in the storage means

  The dictionary generation method of the present invention is a dictionary generation method executed by a server, and specifies position information indicating a geographical position, a word / phrase assigned to the position, and a user who assigned the word / phrase to the position. From the input storage means for storing the input information associated with the user ID, the first input information indicating the position where the first word is given by the first user, and the second word by the second user Whether or not the second input information indicating the assigned position is read, and based on the first and second input information, whether or not the first and second users give a phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions And the dictionary data in which the first and second words are associated with each other when it is determined in the determining step that the first and second users have added words at a predetermined number or more of common positions. To generate the dictionary data The and a registration step of registering in the dictionary storage means.

  The dictionary generation program of the present invention allows a computer to input a position information indicating a geographical position, a word / phrase assigned to the position, and a user ID for identifying a user who assigned the word / phrase to the position. Input storage means for storing information; first input information indicating a position to which the first word is given by the first user from the input storage means; and a position to which the second word is given by the second user And determining whether or not the first and second users have added words at a predetermined number of common positions or more based on the first and second input information When the determination means determines that the means and the first and second users have given a word at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the dictionary data associated with the first and second words is generated, The dictionary data is stored in the dictionary storage means. To function as a registration means for registering.

  The computer-readable recording medium of the present invention associates a computer with position information indicating a geographical position, a phrase assigned to the position, and a user ID that identifies the user who assigned the phrase to the position. Input storage means for storing received input information, first input information indicating a position to which the first word is given by the first user from the input storage means, and a second word given by the second user Whether or not the first and second users have given a word at a predetermined number of common positions or more based on the first and second input information. When it is determined by the determination means that the determination means and the determination means determine that the first and second users have given a word at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the dictionary data associated with the first and second words is obtained. Generate the dictionary data Records a dictionary generating program to function as a registration means for registering in the dictionary storage means.

  According to such an invention, it is determined based on the input information whether or not two users have given words to a predetermined number or more of common positions. If words are assigned at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the two words assigned by each user are associated with the common position and registered as dictionary data. Since it can be said that giving a phrase to a certain position is a manifestation of the user's thoughts or actions, the input information is a kind of information indicating the user's thoughts or actions. Therefore, by using such input information and associating words with each other in consideration of overlapping positions to which words are assigned, it is possible to generate a related word dictionary that takes into account the user's thoughts and actions.

  In the server of the present invention, dictionary data in which the first word and the second word are associated is stored in the dictionary storage means, and the third word is given by the second input information and the third user. If the determination means determines that the second and third users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the third input information indicating the determined position, the registration means The dictionary data in which the third word / phrase is associated with each other may be generated, and the dictionary data may be registered in the dictionary storage unit.

  In this case, two words that are indirectly related through a certain word are also directly related, so the number of patterns related to each other can be increased.

  In the server of the present invention, dictionary data in which the first word and the second word are associated is stored in the dictionary storage means, and the third word is given by the second input information and the third user. If the determination means determines that the second and third users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the third input information indicating the determined position, the registration means The dictionary data in which the second and third words are associated with each other may be generated without associating the third word with the third word, and the dictionary data may be registered in the dictionary storage unit.

  In this case, since the words are associated with each other only considering the overlapping of the positions where the words are assigned, it is possible to create a dictionary in which the behavior patterns of the two users are reflected as they are.

  In the server of the present invention, the position information is information indicating the geographical position at least in latitude and longitude, and the determination means determines that the position indicated by one input information and the position indicated by the other input information are within a predetermined geographical range. If included, the positions may be determined to be common.

  In this case, even if the position to which the phrase is given differs slightly between users, it is treated as a common position. Therefore, even when the position information is expressed by a strict value of latitude and longitude, it is possible to appropriately determine the overlap of positions to which words are given.

  In the server of the present invention, the position information may be information indicating the geographical position by latitude and longitude and altitude, and the predetermined geographical range may be a range indicated by a three-dimensional shape.

  In this case, since the location information and the geographical range for determining the overlap of the location are expressed three-dimensionally, even if the location information is expressed by strict values such as latitude and longitude and altitude, a phrase is added. It is possible to appropriately determine the overlapping of the determined positions.

  The server of the present invention includes a facility storage unit that stores facility information in which a facility ID that identifies a facility and a category name assigned by the user to the facility are associated, and a request that includes a specified category name input by the user Receiving means for receiving the signal from the terminal of the user, searching means for reading the facility information corresponding to the request signal received by the receiving means from the facility storage means, and transmitting the facility information read by the searching means to the terminal Transmitting means, and the phrase is a category name given to the facility existing at the predetermined position, and the search means reads out another category name associated with the designated category name from the dictionary storage means. The facility information corresponding to the designated category name or another category name may be read out from the facility storage means.

  In this case, when searching for facility information, not only the category name specified on the user's terminal, but also another category name associated with the category name is used. Then, facility information corresponding to either the designated category name or another category name is extracted and transmitted to the terminal. Thereby, the user can obtain not only the information on the facility to which the category is assigned by himself but also the information on the facility to which the category is assigned by another person and is likely to be related to the designated category. Therefore, the convenience of facility search increases.

  The server of the present invention further includes user relationship storage means for indicating a relationship between users, and the facility information further includes information indicating the disclosure range of the facility information based on the relationship between the users, which is given by the user. The means receives a request signal further including a user ID identifying the user of the terminal, the search means refers to the facility storage means and the user relationship storage means and corresponds to the designated category name or another category name; and The user indicated by the user ID included in the request signal may read facility information included in the disclosure range.

  In this case, the facility information is extracted in consideration of whether or not the information is disclosed based on the relationship between users as well as whether or not it matches the category name. Therefore, the search result reflecting the connection between users can be provided to the users.

  In the server of the present invention, when the search means reads out facility information that includes another category name and does not include the specified category name, the specified category name is temporarily converted into the facility information for processing at the terminal. You may associate.

  In this case, since the specified category name is associated with all of the extracted facility information, processing related to the category name in the terminal can be simplified.

  According to the present invention, dictionary data is generated by associating words with each other in consideration of overlapping positions where the user has added words, so that it is possible to generate a related word dictionary that takes into account the user's thoughts and actions. it can.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the system containing the search server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for a category provision displayed on the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the facility display screen displayed on the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the detail of the screen shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the search server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the search server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the facility information which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of category information. It is a figure for demonstrating the dictionary production | generation method concerning 1st Embodiment. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the example of dictionary data. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the dictionary data generation in the search server shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the facility search in the search server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the search program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the detail of the plant | facility display screen which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the search server which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of user relationship information. It is a figure which shows the example of the facility information which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the facility search method which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the search program which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the server according to the present invention is applied to a search server. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
The function and configuration of the search server 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The search server 10 is a computer system that transmits information about a facility (facility information) to the terminal T in response to a request from the mobile terminal T owned by the user. Examples of facilities include shops, inns, sightseeing spots, and public facilities, but the types of facilities are not limited to these. The portable terminal T collects and displays the received facility information for each category of facility, and this category is given in advance by the user. The search server 10 transmits not only the facility information that matches the category given by the user who requests the facility information, but also the facility information that matches other categories related to the category to the mobile terminal T. For this purpose, the search server 10 is provided with a database (dictionary database 16 to be described later) of a dictionary (related word dictionary) in which associations between categories are defined. Generated using.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the search server 10 is connected to a plurality of portable terminals T via a communication network N. In FIG. 1, three mobile terminals T are shown, but any number of mobile terminals T may be used. Examples of the mobile terminal T include a high-function mobile phone (smart phone) and a personal digital assistant (PDA), but the type of terminal is not limited to these.

  Before describing the functional configuration of the search server 10 in detail, a screen displayed on the mobile terminal T linked with the search server 10 will be described in order to facilitate understanding.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for inputting information on which dictionary data is based. In this embodiment, the phrase registered in the dictionary is a category name (category name) for classifying the facility. The category name is a phrase that the user uniquely gives to each facility. The user gives a category name to the facility that he / she is interested in via a screen as shown in FIG.

  First, the user selects a category name on the screen Da. The user may select one category from a list of categories already registered (movie, bookstore, lunch, etc.), or create a new category by entering a category not in the list and pressing the add button. Good. In the example of FIG. 2, the category “bookstore” is selected.

  Subsequently, the user selects a facility on the screen Db. The user can select a facility from a list of facilities (bookstores E and F) existing in the vicinity. The portable terminal T has a GPS function, and transmits a list request signal including position information indicating the current position of the own terminal obtained by the function to the search server 10. Thereafter, the portable terminal T receives the facility information list (candidate facility list) sent from the search server 10 in response to the signal and displays it on the screen Db. In addition, the user may press the new creation button in the screen Db to display the screen Dc, and input facility information not in the list.

  When the user completes the operation of assigning the category to the facility, the mobile terminal T generates input information based on the operation and transmits it to the search server 10. When a facility is selected from the list, the input information includes a user ID that uniquely identifies the user, position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal T in latitude and longitude, and a facility ID of the facility selected by the user. , And the category name entered by the user for the facility. When the user newly inputs a facility, the input information includes a user ID, location information, facility information input by the user, and a category name.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays facility information in response to a user request. When the user opens the screen Dd for facility search, a list of category names registered by the user himself and stored in the mobile terminal T is displayed. When the user selects one category on the screen Dd, the mobile terminal T generates a request signal including the selected category name (specified category name) and position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal T by latitude and longitude. It transmits to the search server 10. Thereafter, the portable terminal T receives the facility information transmitted from the search server 10 in response to the signal, and displays the received information as a list of facilities (screen De). In the example of FIG. 3, the category name “Shop” is selected, and the facilities belonging to that category are displayed. When the user selects one facility on the screen De, the portable terminal T displays detailed information on the facility (screen Df).

  The detailed configuration of the screen Df is as shown in FIG. In the uppermost part of the screen, the category name of the facility given by the user of the mobile terminal T and the rank indicated by the number of stars are displayed. In the center of the screen, the facility photo, name, address, telephone number, and website URL are displayed. The “official” mark to the right of the URL indicates that the URL is for an official page (a web page officially recognized by the facility). In the lower part of the screen, each user's comment on the facility and the posting time are displayed.

  Next, the functional configuration of the search server 10 will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 5, the search server 10 includes a facility database (facility storage unit) 11, a facility list acquisition unit 12, a category registration unit 13, a category database (input storage unit) 14, and a dictionary registration unit (determination) as functional components. Means (registration means) 15, dictionary database (dictionary storage means) 16, request reception unit (reception unit) 17, search unit (search unit) 18, and result transmission unit (transmission unit) 19.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the search server 10 includes a CPU 101 that executes an operating system, application programs, and the like, a main storage unit 102 that includes a ROM and a RAM, and an auxiliary storage unit 103 that includes a hard disk. The communication control unit 104 includes a network card, an input unit 105 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an output unit 106 such as a monitor. Each function of the search server 10 reads predetermined software on the CPU 101 and the main storage unit 102 and operates the communication control unit 104, the input unit 105, the output unit 106, and the like under the control of the CPU 101, and the main storage unit This is realized by reading and writing data in 102 and the auxiliary storage unit 103. Data and databases necessary for processing are stored in the main storage unit 102 and the auxiliary storage unit 103.

  Although FIG. 6 shows that the search server 10 is configured by one computer, the function of the search server 10 may be distributed to a plurality of computers. For example, the search server 10 may be configured by a computer having each database shown in FIG. 5 and a computer having other functions.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the facility database 11 is means for storing facility information relating to the facility. As shown in FIG. 7, the facility information is assigned to the facility, the facility ID that uniquely identifies the facility, the facility name and location (map information), facility related information such as each user's comment regarding the facility, and the facility. It consists of a list of category names (category list). The category name is added to the category list by the category registration unit 13 to be described later. However, since a plurality of users may assign a category to one facility, the category list may include one or more category names. .

  The facility list acquisition unit 12 is a means for extracting facility information of facilities existing around the portable terminal T as a candidate facility list based on the list request signal received from the portable terminal T. The facility list acquisition unit 12 extracts position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal T from the list request signal, and compares this position information with the location (map information) defined by each facility information in the facility database 11. Then, a facility existing within a predetermined range from the current position of the mobile terminal T is specified. In addition, you may determine the range which searches a facility arbitrarily (for example, the inside of a circle with a radius of 500 m etc.). The facility list acquisition unit 12 reads out the facility information of one or more specified facilities from the facility database 11 and transmits it to the portable terminal T as a candidate facility list. This list is displayed on the screen Db as described above.

  The facility list acquisition unit 12 may specify a facility that exists within the search range input by the user. In this case, information indicating the search range is included in the list request signal, and the facility list acquisition unit 12 specifies a facility within the range.

  The category registration unit 13 is means for receiving input information transmitted from the mobile terminal T and updating the facility database 11 and the category database 14 based on the input information. Specifically, the category registration unit 13 adds a category name to the category list of the facility information specified by the facility ID, or adds a new facility to the facility information (including the category name) input on the mobile terminal T. Processing for assigning and registering an ID is executed for the facility database 11. The category registration unit 13 generates category information by associating the received user ID, location information, and category name with each other, and registers the category information in the category database 14. The category information is a part of the input information, and is information indicating the category name given by the user to the geographical position (position where the facility exists).

  The category database 14 is means for storing category information. Since the input information that is the basis of the category information is sent from each portable terminal T to the search server 10 as needed, the category information is accumulated in the category database 14 as shown in FIG.

  The dictionary registration unit 15 is means for generating dictionary data by associating different category names given by different users and storing the dictionary data in the dictionary database 16.

  First, the dictionary registration unit 15 includes category information (first category information) indicating a position where one category name (first category name) is given by one user (first user), and another user (first category information). The category information (second category information) indicating the position where one category name (second category name) is given by the second user) is read from the category database 14.

  Subsequently, based on the first and second category information, the dictionary registration unit 15 determines whether or not these two users have assigned category names at a predetermined number or more of common positions. However, since the position indicated by the category information is latitude and longitude, even if a plurality of users assign category names to one facility, the position information in the category information corresponding to them is usually different from each other. . Therefore, the dictionary registration unit 15 determines that the positions are common if a plurality of positions indicated by the position information are included in a predetermined geographical range (for example, a circle with a radius of several tens of meters). To do. Based on the first and second category information, the dictionary registration unit 15 obtains the number of common category assignment positions of the first and second users, and whether the obtained value is a predetermined number or more. Determine whether. Examples of the threshold used for this determination include 2 and 3, but other values may be used.

  If the number of common positions is less than the predetermined number, the dictionary registration unit 15 terminates the processing related to the read first and second category information. On the other hand, if the number of common positions is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the dictionary registration unit 15 generates dictionary data by associating the first category name and the second category name, and stores the dictionary data in the dictionary database 16. sign up.

  The dictionary registration unit 15 executes the above-described series of processes for each category name of each user, thereby generating a dictionary database 16.

  Such processing of the dictionary registration unit 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. Each mark shown on the map M in FIG. 9 corresponds to the category information shown in FIG. 8, and a broken-line circle represents a geographical range regarded as a common position. The threshold is 2. In the following, category information related to a certain category name of a certain user ID is expressed in a format of “(user ID, category name)”.

  Looking at the combination of (user A, cafe) and (user B, tea), there are two common positions, so the dictionary registration unit 15 stores the dictionary data associated with the two category names “cafe” and “tea”. Generate. Next, looking at the combination of (user A, cafe) and (user B, magazine), there is no common position, so the dictionary registration unit 15 does not associate “cafe” with “magazine”. Combinations of (User A, Department Store) and (User B, Tea), (User A, Department Store) and (User B, Magazine), and (User A, Bookstore) and (User B, Tea) Since there is no common position, the dictionary registration unit 15 does not generate dictionary data. Looking at the combination of (user A, bookstore) and (user B, magazine), the registration unit does not generate dictionary data because there is only one common position.

  When such processing is performed between the users A and C and between the users B and C, the dictionary registration unit 15 further associates “cafe” with “study place” and associates “department store” with “shop”. . Therefore, two dictionary data shown in FIG. 10 are generated in the dictionary database 16 by these processes. When two category names can be indirectly associated through one category name, the dictionary registration unit 15 may create dictionary data by any of the following methods.

  In the above example, the two category names “tea” and “study place” are indirectly associated through “cafe”, but the dictionary registration unit 15 stores the dictionary data in which these three category names are associated with each other. You may create (refer Fig.10 (a)). In this case, two category names that are indirectly related via a certain category name are also directly related, so that patterns of association between categories can be increased.

  In addition, the dictionary registration unit 15 does not associate “tea” and “study place”, and only considers the overlapping of positions where words are given, and dictionary data including “cafe” and “tea”; Dictionary data consisting of “cafe” and “study place” may be created separately (see FIG. 10B). In this case, since the association is performed considering only the overlapping of the positions to which the category names are assigned, it is possible to create a dictionary in which the behavior patterns of the two users are reflected as they are.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the request receiving unit 17 is means for receiving a request signal indicating a request for facility information to be displayed on the screens De and Df from the portable terminal T. The request reception unit 17 outputs the received request signal to the search unit 18.

  The search unit 18 is means for reading facility information corresponding to the input request signal from the facility database 11. First, the search unit 18 extracts a specified category name and position information from the request signal. Subsequently, the search unit 18 extracts another category name (hereinafter referred to as “related category name”) associated with the designated category name from the dictionary database 16. Assuming FIG. 10, for example, the search unit 18 extracts “tea” and “study place” associated with the designated category name “cafe” or “department store” associated with the designated category name “shop”. Or extract.

  Subsequently, the search unit 18 reads from the facility database 11 the facility information of the facility that includes the designated category name or the related category name and exists within a predetermined geographical range from the current position of the mobile terminal T indicated by the position information. . The facility search range may be arbitrarily determined (for example, within a circle having a radius of 500 m). The search unit 18 outputs the extracted facility information to the result transmission unit 19. At this time, the specified category name is temporarily associated with the facility information including only the related category name. This is because the portable terminal T that is the transmission destination of the facility information cannot recognize the related category assigned by another portable terminal T. By performing such association, processing related to the category name in the portable terminal T can be simplified. For example, when displaying information on a facility to which the user does not assign a category name on the screen Df, the designated category name (“shop” in the example of FIG. 4) can be easily displayed on the upper left of the screen. . Further, the user of the portable terminal T can browse the facility information based on the category name given by himself / herself.

  The process of the search unit 18 is illustrated using FIGS. First, processing when searching for a facility in the map M corresponding to the category name “cafe” will be described. When the dictionary data is prepared as shown in FIG. 10 (a), the search unit 18 is not only given the “cafe” but also the designated category name “cafe”. Four stores with category name “tea” or “study place” are also extracted, and these seven stores are used as search results. The result is the same when the dictionary data is prepared as shown in FIG.

  Next, processing when searching for facilities in the map M corresponding to the category name “tea” will be described. When the dictionary data is prepared as shown in FIG. 10A, the search unit 18 is not limited to the four stores to which “tea” is assigned, but the designated category name “tea” is not assigned. Three stores with the category name “cafe” or “study place” are also extracted, and these seven stores are used as search results. On the other hand, when the dictionary data is prepared as shown in FIG. 10B, the search unit 18 has four stores to which “tea” is assigned, and the designated category name “tea” is not assigned, but the related category. One store with the name “cafe” is also extracted, and these five stores are used as search results.

  In addition, the search part 18 may extract the information of the facility which exists in the search range input by the user. In this case, information indicating the search range is included in the request signal, and the search unit 18 extracts a facility within the range.

  The result transmission unit 19 is a means for transmitting the facility information input from the search unit 18 as a search result to the mobile terminal T that is the transmission source of the request signal. The portable terminal T displays the screens De and Df using this facility information.

  Next, the operation of the search server 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, and the dictionary generation method according to the present embodiment will be described. Below, based on the input information received from each portable terminal T, a certain number or more of category information is stored in the category database 14, and category names are given to a certain number of facility information in the facility database 11. The explanation is based on the assumption that

  Dictionary data registration is performed as shown in FIG. The dictionary registration unit 15 reads out category information related to one category name given by one user and category information related to one category name given by another user from the category database 14 (step S11, determination Step). Subsequently, based on the read category information, the dictionary registration unit 15 determines whether or not these two users have assigned category names at a predetermined number or more (threshold or more) common positions (step S12, determination). Step). If category names are given at a predetermined number or more of common positions (step S13; YES), the dictionary registration unit 15 creates dictionary data by associating the two read category names, and the dictionary Data is registered in the dictionary database 16 (step S14, registration step). The dictionary registration unit 15 executes the processes in steps S11 to S14 for all combinations of the set including the user and the category name (step S15).

  The process of searching for facility information using the dictionary data generated in this way is performed as shown in FIG. First, the request receiving unit 17 receives a request signal including position information and a specified category name from the mobile terminal T (step S21). Subsequently, the search unit 18 refers to the dictionary database 16 to extract a related category name corresponding to the designated category name (step S22), and obtains facility information corresponding to the designated or related category name and the position information from the facility database 11. Extract (step S23). Then, the facility information extracted by the result transmission unit 19 is transmitted to the portable terminal T as a search result (step S24). Thereby, the screens De and Df are displayed on the portable terminal T.

  Next, a search program (dictionary generation program) P1 for causing a computer to function as the search server 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The search program P1 includes a main module P10, a facility storage module P11, a facility list acquisition module P12, a category registration module P13, a category storage module P14, a dictionary registration module P15, a dictionary storage module P16, a request reception module P17, a search module P18, and A result transmission module P19 is provided.

  The main module P10 is a part that comprehensively controls the dictionary generation function and the search function. By executing the facility storage module P11, the facility list acquisition module P12, the category registration module P13, the category storage module P14, the dictionary registration module P15, the dictionary storage module P16, the request reception module P17, the search module P18, and the result transmission module P19. The functions realized are the facility database 11, the facility list acquisition unit 12, the category registration unit 13, the category database 14, the dictionary registration unit 15, the dictionary database 16, the request reception unit 17, the search unit 18, and the result transmission unit, respectively. This is the same as the 19 function.

  The search program P1 is provided in a form recorded on a tangible recording medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD, ROM, or semiconductor memory. The search program P1 may be provided via a communication network as a computer data signal superimposed on a carrier wave.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, whether or not two users have assigned category names to a predetermined number or more of common positions is determined based on the category information. When category names are given at a predetermined number or more of common positions, two category names given by each user are associated with the common positions and registered as dictionary data. In this way, the user's thoughts and actions (specifically, the facilities in the vicinity of the visited site are classified by their own words by associating the category names with each other in consideration of overlapping positions where the category names are given. A related word dictionary that takes into account actions) can be generated.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when searching for facility information, not only the category name specified on the user's terminal, but also another category name (related category name) associated with the category name is used. . Then, facility information corresponding to either the designated category name or the related category name is extracted and transmitted to the mobile terminal T. Thereby, the user can obtain not only information related to the facility to which the category is assigned, but also information related to the facility to which the category is assigned by another person and is likely to be related to the designated category. Therefore, the user can obtain information on a facility that has not been known so far, and the convenience of facility search is enhanced.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the search server 10A according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that facility information is provided in consideration of connections (intimacy) between users.

  In this embodiment, the user can set the disclosure range of a facility when the category is assigned to the facility via the screens Da to Dc. Examples of the disclosure range include “no restriction (public)”, “friends only”, “company friends only”, and “circle friends only”, but the method for setting the disclosure range may be arbitrarily determined. Therefore, the input information transmitted from the portable terminal T to the search server 10A includes information indicating the disclosure range in addition to the user ID, the position information, the facility ID (or new facility information), and the category name.

  Accordingly, the screen Dg showing the details of the facility is configured as shown in FIG. The screen Dg is different from the screen Df in the first embodiment in that a mark indicating the facility information disclosure range is displayed on the left side of the URL. The screen Dg indicates that the facility information related to the supermarket P can be browsed only by users who have a predetermined friendship. In order to realize such display, the request signal transmitted from the mobile terminal T to the search server 10A includes the user ID corresponding to the terminal T in addition to the position information and the specified category name.

  As illustrated in FIG. 15, the search server 10A includes a facility database 11A, a category registration unit 13A, and a search unit 18A instead of the facility database 11, the category registration unit 13, and the search unit 18 in the first embodiment. The search server 10 </ b> A also includes a user relationship database (user relationship storage means) 20. Below, only a different point from 1st Embodiment is demonstrated, and description is abbreviate | omitted about the same part as this embodiment.

  The user relationship database 20 is means for storing user relationship information indicating the relationship between users. The user relationship information is created in advance based on friend relationship information registered by the user on a predetermined social networking service (SNS) and stored in the user relationship database 20. As shown in FIG. 16, the user relationship information includes two user IDs that uniquely identify two users, and information indicating the relationship between the users. The relationship between users includes normal friendships and various special friendships (best friends, company volunteers, college friends, etc.), but the relationships between users may be arbitrarily defined. Records regarding users who have no special relationship are not registered in the user relationship database 20.

  The facility database 11A is a means for storing facility information including a facility ID, facility-related information, a category list, and a disclosure range list. The public range list is a list of public range information including a user ID of a user (registered user) who has given a category to a facility and a public range set at the time of giving the category. Similarly to the first embodiment, since a plurality of users may give a category and a disclosure range to one facility, one or more disclosure range information can be included in the disclosure range list. An example of facility information stored in the facility database 11A is shown in FIG.

  The category registration unit 13A is means for receiving input information sent from the portable terminal T and updating the facility database 11A and the category database 14 based on the input information. The update method of category information is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the update of facility information is different from that of the first embodiment. The category registration unit 13A adds a category name to the category list of the facility information specified by the received facility ID and executes a process for adding the disclosure range information to the disclosure range list of the facility information for the facility database 11A. To do. When new facility information (including information indicating the category name and disclosure range) is received from the portable terminal T, the category registration unit 13A gives a new facility ID to the facility information, and the facility information is used as the facility information. Register in the database 11A.

  The search unit 18A is means for extracting facility information corresponding to the position information and category name included in the request signal and satisfying the conditions of the disclosure range from the facility database 11A. First, the search unit 18A extracts another category name (related category name) associated with the designated category name from the dictionary database 16. Subsequently, the search unit 18A reads from the facility database 11A the facility information of the facility that includes either the designated category name or the related category name and exists within a predetermined range from the position indicated by the input position information. The process so far is the same as the process of the search part 18 in 1st Embodiment.

  Subsequently, the search unit 18A determines whether to transmit the read facility information to the mobile terminal T as a search result. Specifically, the search unit 18A sets the facility information whose specified category name is included in the category list as a transmission target. This is because the user (request user) of the portable terminal T that is the transmission source of the request signal gives a category to the facility information. On the other hand, for the facility information in which only the related category name is included in the category list, that is, the facility information to which the category is given only by the user other than the requesting user (other users), the search unit 18A performs the following processing.

  If the disclosure range information recorded in the facility information disclosure range list is all “unrestricted”, the search unit 18A does not apply any disclosure restriction to the facility information. Send target. On the other hand, when the disclosure range information for restricting the disclosure (such as “friends only”) is included in the disclosure range list, the search unit 18A refers to the user relation database 20 and determines the ID of the requesting user. Then, it is determined whether or not there is user relationship information indicating a combination of the other user ID and the disclosure range indicated by the disclosure range information. Then, the search unit 18A sets the facility information to be processed as a transmission target if at least one such user relation information exists, and excludes the facility information from the transmission target otherwise. This means that if the requesting user is permitted to view the facility information by at least one other user, the facility information is to be transmitted.

  The search unit 18A extracts facility information to be provided to the requesting user by the above processing, and outputs it to the result transmission unit 19 as a search result.

  A specific example of such a search unit 18A will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 is a diagram showing only the facilities corresponding to the facility information of FIG. 17 among the facilities shown in FIG.

  If the user A searches for “cafe” existing in the map M, the search unit 18A has not only been given “cafe” in addition to the three stores (stores a to c) to which “cafe” is assigned. However, four stores (stores d to g) to which the related category name “tea” or “study place” is assigned are also extracted.

  Among these, since the designated category name “cafe” is given to the stores a to c by the user A himself, the search unit 18A sets these three stores as transmission targets. Since only “no restriction” is set in the disclosure range list of the store d, the search unit 18A also sets the store d as a transmission target. In the store e, the public range is set as “friends only” by the user B, but the users A and B are set as friends, so the search unit 18A also sets the store e as a transmission target. On the other hand, since the disclosure range is set as “company voluntary” by the user C in the stores f and g, and the users A and C are not set as the company volunteers, the search unit 18A selects the store f. , G are excluded from transmission targets. Therefore, the search unit 18 </ b> A outputs only the facility information of the stores a to e to the result transmission unit 19.

  In this embodiment, since the information regarding the registered user is included in the facility information, the search unit 18A can output the search result as follows. First, the search unit 18A may compare the registered user information with the user relationship information, and set the display order on the screen De for each extracted facility information. For example, the search unit 18A displays the facility information in which a person who has a predetermined relationship with the requesting user on the user relationship information is a registered user so that the facility information is displayed higher than the facility information with no restriction on the disclosure range. The display order may be set.

  Further, the search unit 18A may extract only facility information in which a person who has a predetermined relationship with the requesting user is a registered user on the user relationship information. In this case, the request signal further includes user range information indicating a search range based on the user relationship (for example, user range information indicating that “facility registered by a friend is searched”). The search unit 18A compares the user range information, the user relationship information, and the facility information extracted as described above, and outputs only the facility information existing within the search range indicated by the user range information as a search result.

  The configuration of a search program P1A for causing a computer to function as the search server 10A is as shown in FIG. The search program P1A includes a facility storage module P11A, a category registration module P13A, and a search module P18A instead of the facility storage module P11, the category registration module P13, and the search module P18 in the first embodiment. The search program P1A also includes a user relationship storage module P20. The functions realized by executing the facility storage module P11A, the category registration module P13A, the search module P18A, and the user relationship storage module P20 are the facility database 11A, the category registration unit 13A, the search unit 18A, and the user relationship, respectively. The function is the same as that of the database 20.

  As described above, this embodiment can achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, facility information is extracted in consideration of whether or not information is disclosed based on the relationship between users as well as whether or not the category name matches. Therefore, it is possible to provide the user with a search result reflecting the connection (intimacy) between the users.

  The present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the dictionary registration unit 15 creates a dictionary related to the category name, but the words / phrases placed in the dictionary data are not limited in any way. Further, the purpose of use of the created dictionary is not limited to facility search, and the present invention can also be applied to creation of a dictionary used for searching for other types of information.

  The configuration of various data and databases is not limited to the above. For example, the facility information shown in FIG. 17 may be further normalized and divided into a plurality of tables. In each of the above embodiments, the search servers 10 and 10A include various databases. However, a server other than the search server includes a database, and the search server accesses the database via a communication network to acquire information. Good. For example, the search server may not include a database corresponding to the user relationship database 20, and may acquire user relationship information from a user relationship database provided in a predetermined SNS server. Moreover, the search server may acquire facility information from a facility database provided in a predetermined facility management server without providing a database corresponding to the facility databases 11 and 11A.

  In each of the above embodiments, the position information included in the category information is expressed in the form of latitude and longitude, but the expression format of the position information is not limited to this. For example, the position information may be indicated in a format other than latitude and longitude (for example, a location).

  Further, the position information may be expressed three-dimensionally by latitude and longitude and altitude. In this case, for example, category information including position information indicated by (x11, y11, z11) is accumulated in the category database 14. In this case, the geographical range that the dictionary registration unit 15 regards as a common position is also expressed in a three-dimensional shape. For example, the dictionary registration unit 15 sets a range indicated by a virtual cylinder having a radius of several tens of meters and a height of several meters as a geographical range that is regarded as a common position. If position information expressed three-dimensionally is used, it is possible to appropriately determine the overlap of positions to which words are given in consideration of not only the planar range but also the height. For example, more detailed dictionary data can be generated by distinguishing category information corresponding to different floors in the same building.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10A ... Search server, 11, 11A ... Facility database, 12 ... Facility list acquisition part, 13, 13A ... Category registration part, 14 ... Category database, 15 ... Dictionary registration part, 16 ... Dictionary database, 17 ... Request reception part , 18, 18A ... search unit, 19 ... result transmission unit, 20 ... user relation database, P1, P1A ... search program, P10 ... main module, P11, P11A ... facility storage module, P12 ... facility list acquisition module, P13, P13A ... Category registration module, P14 ... Category storage module, P15 ... Dictionary registration module, P16 ... Dictionary storage module, P17 ... Request reception module, P18, P18A ... Search module, P19 ... Result transmission module, P20 ... User relationship storage module, T A mobile terminal.

Claims (11)

Input storage means for storing input information in which position information indicating a geographical position, a word given to the position, and a user ID for identifying a user who assigned the word to the position are associated with each other;
From the input storage means, first input information indicating a position where the first word is given by the first user, and second input information showing a position where the second word is given by the second user. A determination means for determining whether or not the first and second users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the read and the first and second input information;
When the determination means determines that the first and second users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the dictionary data associated with the first and second words is generated, A server comprising registration means for registering the dictionary data in the dictionary storage means. Dictionary data in which the first phrase and the second phrase are associated with each other is stored in the dictionary storage means, and the third phrase is given by the second input information and the third user. When the determination means determines that the second and third users have given words at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the third input information indicating the position, the registration means Generating dictionary data in which the first to third words are associated with each other, and registering the dictionary data in the dictionary storage means;
The server according to claim 1. Dictionary data in which the first phrase and the second phrase are associated with each other is stored in the dictionary storage means, and the third phrase is given by the second input information and the third user. When the determination means determines that the second and third users have given words at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the third input information indicating the position, the registration means Generating the dictionary data in which the second and third words are associated with each other without associating the first and third words with each other, and registering the dictionary data in the dictionary storage unit;
The server according to claim 1. The position information is information indicating the geographical position in at least latitude and longitude;
The determination means determines that both positions are common when the position indicated by one of the input information and the position indicated by the other input information are included within a predetermined geographical range;
The server according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The position information is information indicating the geographical position by the latitude and longitude and altitude;
The predetermined geographical range is a range indicated by a three-dimensional shape;
The server according to claim 4. Receiving means for receiving a request signal including a designated category name input by a user from the terminal of the user;
Search for retrieving facility information corresponding to a request signal received by the receiving unit from a facility storage unit that stores facility information in which a facility ID that identifies a facility and a category name assigned by the user to the facility are associated Means,
A transmission means for transmitting the facility information read by the search means to the terminal;
The phrase is a category name given to a facility existing at a predetermined position,
The search means reads another category name associated with the designated category name from the dictionary storage means, and reads the facility information corresponding to the designated category name or the other category name from the facility storage means.
The server as described in any one of Claims 1-5. The facility information further includes information indicating a disclosure range of the facility information based on a relationship between users given by the user,
The receiving means receives the request signal further including a user ID identifying a user of the terminal;
The search means corresponds to the designated category name or the another category name with reference to the facility storage means and user relation storage means for storing user relation information indicating a relation between the users, and The user indicated by the user ID included in the request signal reads out facility information included in the disclosure range.
The server according to claim 6. When the search means reads out facility information that includes the other category name and does not include the designated category name, the designated category name is temporarily associated with the facility information for processing at the terminal.
The server according to claim 6 or 7. A dictionary generation method executed by a server,
From input storage means for storing input information in which position information indicating a geographical position, a word assigned to the position, and a user ID specifying a user who assigned the word to the position are associated with each other. The first input information indicating the position where the first word is assigned by the user and the second input information indicating the position where the second word is assigned by the second user are read out, and the first and second A determination step of determining whether or not the first and second users have given a phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on input information;
When it is determined in the determination step that the first and second users have given words at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the dictionary data associated with the first and second words is generated, A dictionary generation method including a registration step of registering the dictionary data in a dictionary storage means. Computer
Input storage means for storing input information in which position information indicating a geographical position, a word given to the position, and a user ID for identifying a user who assigned the word to the position are associated with each other;
From the input storage means, first input information indicating a position where the first word is given by the first user, and second input information showing a position where the second word is given by the second user. A determination means for determining whether or not the first and second users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the read and the first and second input information;
When the determination means determines that the first and second users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the dictionary data associated with the first and second words is generated, A dictionary generation program that functions as registration means for registering the dictionary data in the dictionary storage means. Computer
Input storage means for storing input information in which position information indicating a geographical position, a word given to the position, and a user ID for identifying a user who assigned the word to the position are associated with each other;
From the input storage means, first input information indicating a position where the first word is given by the first user, and second input information showing a position where the second word is given by the second user. A determination means for determining whether or not the first and second users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions based on the read and the first and second input information;
When the determination means determines that the first and second users have given a word or phrase at a predetermined number or more of common positions, the dictionary data associated with the first and second words is generated, A computer-readable recording medium on which a dictionary generation program for causing the dictionary data to function as registration means for registering the dictionary data in the dictionary storage means is recorded.

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